Friendly rivalry is renewed

Ferrari and Caruso first came to athletic prominence as 9- and 10-year-olds with the Hillsborough Little League All-Star team, winning four District 52 titles in a row, from 2005 to 2008.

“We’re more like brothers than friends,” Ferrari said during a Daily Journal interview in December 2011. “Our families are close.”

They went their separate ways for high school — Ferrari opting for Burlingame, while Caruso went on to star at Serra. When it came time to choose college programs, Caruso, who graduated in 2013, went east to Princeton, while Ferrari stayed closer to home and enrolled at USF following his graduation from Burlingame in 2014.

Caruso flourished with the Tigers. The 6-4 forward steadily moved up the depth chart throughout his career. After seeing consistent playing time as a true freshman, he continued that trajectory his sophomore season, earning Ivy League Player of the Week honors in January and starting the final seven games of the season. His junior year, Caruso made First-Team All-Ivy League after leading the Tigers in scoring at 15 points per game. As a senior last year, Caruso was a preseason All-Ivy League selection and he started the first eight games before a toe injury ended his campaign.

It was that injury that led him to the Broncos. Because he played in so few games during the 2016-17 season, he was granted a medical redshirt, enabling him to play one more year collegiately. And because he graduated from Princeton, he was eligible to transfer anywhere and play that final season immediately.

He signed with Santa Clara in April and has started all 18 games for the Broncos this season. He is second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game and is first on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.6.

For Ferrari, a slick point guard who wowed PAL crowds, his playing for the Dons is a case of back to future. He signed with USF out of Burlingame and played one season before withdrawing from school. He was slated to play for Cañada during the 2015-16 season, but ultimately decided not to play for the Colts.

Since he left The Hilltop, though, the Dons had gone through a coaching change. Ferrari was re-recruited and came back to USF last season as a redshirt sophomore. He appeared in 25 games, starting four, while averaging 16 minutes a game and 5.2 points.

Now a redshirt junior, Ferrari has seen his numbers go up across the board. He has appeared in all 19 games for the Dons this season, starting seven so far. He is averaging 8.3 points per game and leads the team in assists at 3.5. He has twice led the team in scoring, dropping 19 in a 74-61 win over UC Davis and going for 12 points in a 67-65 loss to Loyola Marymount last Thursday.

Barring anything unforeseen, this is the first of a possible three meetings between these teams and these two friends. After tonight, they’ll meet again Feb. 3 in the Leavey Center on the SCU campus. And if things fall just right, they could face each other in the WCC tournament in Las Vegas.

One thing is for certain, though. Both will be trying to lead their team to victory. In that same 2011 interview, Caruso made a comment that is as true now as it was back then: “I’m trying to beat him. On the court, he won’t be my friend.”

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117. You can follow him on Twitter @CheckkThissOutt.